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Phils riding unprecedented run of success

Phils riding unprecedented run of success

In advancing to the World Series for the second consecutive season, the Phillies have ridden a postseason run of success never before seen from a National League club.

After their NL Championship Series clincher over the Dodgers on Wednesday night, the Phillies have 16 victories in their past 20 postseason games -- the most wins in a 20-game span by an NL team.

Dating back to the Game 4 clincher of the 2008 NL Division Series, the Phillies have lost only once in each of the subsequent four postseason series for those 16 wins in 20 postseason contests.

The last time a team was on a postseason roll like this, the Yankees were building the first two of their three consecutive titles in the late 1990s. The Yankees won 22 of 25 games -- including one run of 17 of 20 -- en route to World Series titles in 1998 and '99 before losing four games in the first two series in 2000 on the way to their third title.

As the Phillies await the winner of the Yankees-Angels ALCS, they're certainly carrying some historic momentum.

Here's a look back at the Phillies' run.

2008 NLDSGame 4: After a Game 3 loss, the Phillies began their roll by clinching their first appearance in the NLCS since 1993, beating Milwaukee, 6-2, behind Pat Burrell's two homers.

2008 NLCSGame 1: Their first postseason meeting with the Dodgers since the 1983 NLCS featured a comeback victory, with Chase Utley and Burrell hitting homers for a 3-2 win.

Game 2: Brett Myers pitched five innings and became the first pitcher in LCS history with three hits in a game as the Phils won, 8-5.

NL Championship Series

Game 3: The Dodgers rallied for a 7-2 win, which included a short start by Jamie Moyer and some tempers flaring when Hiroki Kuroda pitched inside to Shane Victorino.

Game 4: The Phillies rallied with a stunning eighth inning, taking the lead on pinch-hitter Matt Stairs' two-run homer for a 7-5 win.

Game 5: Jimmy Rollins' leadoff homer helped Cole Hamels to his third postseason victory in the 5-1 clincher.

2008 World SeriesGame 1: Utley's two-run homer in the first inning put the Phillies on the right track in St. Petersburg, and Hamels held on to run his record to 4-0 in the postseason.

Game 2: The Rays picked up a 4-2 win as the Phillies went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Game 3: Moyer, the second-oldest pitcher to start a World Series game, had a strong start, and Carlos Ruiz provided the late heroics with a walk-off infield single for a 5-4 win.

Game 4: Ryan Howard hit two home runs, and Joe Blanton became the first pitcher since 1974 to homer in a World Series game in a 10-2 victory.

Game 5: The clincher was the first suspended game in World Series history, but the Phillies didn't mind the wait as they won 4-3, taking the lead in the seventh inning two days after the game had begun.

2009 NLDSGame 1: Cliff Lee dominated in his first postseason start, going the distance in a 5-1 win.

Game 2: Hamels struggled, and the Rockies earned the road split in a 5-4 win at Philadelphia.

Game 3: The Phillies waited out a Denver snowstorm before taking Game 3, 6-5, at Coors Field.

Game 4: Howard tied the game with a two-run double and Jayson Werth knocked him in with the winning run in a thrilling three-run top of the ninth as the Phillies clinched a second straight NLCS appearance with a 5-4 victory over the Rockies.

2009 NLCSGame 1: Howard, who eventually ran his streak of postseason games with an RBI to eight and won NLCS MVP honors, drove in a pair of runs in the opener, but it was Raul Ibanez's three-run homer off George Sherrill in the eighth inning that won it, 8-6.

Game 2: A brilliant start by Pedro Martinez was lost in the shuffle of a rough eighth inning that featured an error by Utley and led to a 2-1 Dodgers win.

Game 3: The Phillies' 11-0 defeat of the Dodgers was the first 10-run victory in NLCS play since 1996. A two-run triple in the first by Howard was more than enough support for Lee, who went eight strong innings.

Game 4: Rollins' two-out walk-off double became the latest of the Phillies' postseason heroics, pushing the winning run across in a 5-4 victory.

Game 5: Werth hit two homers, including a three-run shot in the first, to push the Phillies to a 10-4 win and their second straight appearance in the World Series.

John Schlegel is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.